Richard Jennings' Wine Gift Guide

Top wine gifts as recommended by Richard Jennings

A Port makes a great gift for those who like an occasional, special bottle of wine to end a great meal or party. I particularly like them on cold winter nights, so late December is a perfect time to give or receive a bottle. For the amount of work and aging that goes into them, Ports are also relative values.

Tawny ports are wines made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels, exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation, which concentrates the flavors but also mellows the wine. As a result of this aging, they gradually change to a golden-brown or “tawny” color. The exposure to wood tends to impart nutty flavors, and different casks are ultimately blended to match the house style. The official categories for aged tawnies are 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years. I particularly love 20-year-old tawnies, which usually offer the most complexity balanced with a sense of freshness.

Taylor and Fonseca are two of the greatest Port producers, and both are under the ownership of Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman. Taylor’s 20-year-old tawny is my top choice at the under $50 level. For the last widely declared vintage year, 2007, I prefer the Fonseca vintage Port, which has more delicacy and will be approachable earlier than its Taylor sibling. Both of these will make outstanding and much appreciated gifts.

Russ, thank you for the kind words. I always try to select gifts for people that I would be happy to receive myself, and that philosophy has served me well.

PFBG,
I totally agree that it would be the very rare Rosso that would hold a candle to most Brunellos, but there are also some lousy Brunellos out there, so we'd have to make rare exceptions. Good catch though.